The range of causes highlighted by crowdfunding
website Fundrazr speaks to the needs it answers that Kickstarter and Indiegogo
won’t. Kickstarter doesn’t allow charity, cause or "fund my life"
drives — and even when people do make it through the loopholes, the
all-or-nothing funding requirement creates a large risk. Indiegogo allows for
campaigns like Fundrazr’s, but takes twice as much off the top as Fundrazr does
if the campaign fails.Educational campaigns are just one slice of the pie; many
successful campaigns are for health bills,particularly in the United States,
and internationally people are willing to donate very generously for the
well-being of animals.
Success Story
Brooke’s Story
Beau and Jessica Hester’s daughter, 3- ½-year-old Brooke, is a
fun-loving,vivacious, curious girl—much like any other child her age. Sadly,
however, Brookewas diagnosed with stage IV neuroblastoma cancer in late 2010—a disease
whichhas a childhood survival rate of less than 50%. Upon learning of
Brooke’s condition,a family friend set up the website BrookeFightsBack.org as a way for
people to learn of Brooke’s plight, and to give support to families facing
similar challenges.
Since the diagnosis, Jessica has been
administering 24-hour-a-day care forBrooke—forcing Jessica to take leave
from her full-time job and postpone herfull-time doctorate studies. Further,
the family is now faced with the financial burden of prolonged, extensive
travel to meet with specialists in Brooke’s disease.
How FundRazr Helped
The Brooke Fights Back FundRazr was
created by Jessica after she heard of theapplication through a friend. In her
words, “I have no time to work toward anythingoutside of the hospital or home besides
my 3-year-old—including fundraising.FundRazr opened the door for me to do
it right from the Children's Hospitalbedside.”
The FundRazr which Jessica created
showcases a tone which allows visitors tobegin to understand Brooke’s
challenges, as well as be inspired by her positivity and hope for a cure.
Further, the use of youthful, feminine colors underscores the fact that this
campaign is for a small child—someone in need of care and protection from the
world’s ills. And by including a YouTube video, Jessica has been able to show people
just how positive, high-spirited, and loving her daughter is.
The social media aspect of FundRazr
also appealed to Jessica. According to her, “Since we have widespread friends and
family, social networking was a good way toget the word spread about the effort to
raise money for Brooke's battle.”
Evaluation
Support for the Brooke Fights Back FundRazr
has been overwhelming so far—it hasbeen shared more than 175 times online,
and exceeded its goal within 5 weeks. As summarized by Jessica, “I was
tremendously surprised at the response friendsand family and even extended friends of
friends gave toward the FundRazr. It has been truly humbling.”
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| Daryl Hatton |
Daryl Hatton, founder and CEO, loves the challenge of
building software companies from scratch. With almost 30 years of experience in
the software industry, Daryl has founded multiple start-ups and helped grow one
of them to a very successful IPO on NASDAQ in December 1999. He thinks “work”
is never a four-letter word when the team is such a great group of people. fundrazr
